Bad news is still newsworthy

I’ve had to work on a lot of stories for the paper that were definitely not enjoyable to write about.

When you have to call the RCMP about a possible overdose or drive to an accident scene to take photos, it’s never fun.

You never think “this is awesome!” as you snap a photo of a B.C. Coroner on the side of the road surveying an accident scene where someone died.

That said, it’s part of my job to go out and cover serious things like house fires and car accidents, because our readers want to know what’s going on in our communities.

I remember last year when I was told to go photograph a house fire for the first time, I had to ask myself afterwards if I would have taken photos of my own house as it burned to the ground.

I came to the conclusion that while I wouldn’t have taken any photos myself, I wouldn’t have stopped someone else from taking them.

I felt like I was an ambulance chaser for awhile, and it made me wonder why I wanted to work in this industry in the first place, but then the reality of what I do for a living hit me square in the face.